*please watch with headphones and/or professional audio equipment as the bass levels are very low*

Description:An apocalyptic narrative unfolds through the words of "The Sun", a British tabloid created by media mogul Rupert Murdoch. 4000 single frames were exposed, unedited, and accompanied with the pulsing rhythms of the sun collected by NASA, resembling the Buddhist "Om", the sound of our universe.

The Smyth Brothers were commissioned to make this film by Ben Russell for Moogfest 2016 in Durham, NC as part of a 9-part screening series entitled "Memories of the Space Age". Thanks to Josh Lewis at Negativland Motion Picture Lab for his beautiful processing/printing work!

Guided by a ceremonial death song, an attempt to reach the unholy sea transforms into a chaotic place study of Bali's infamous tourism district- car-bombed one year after 9/11. Osama bin Laden declared the attack to be a direct response to the United States' War on Terror. Now, a dimly-lit memorial stands amidst a sea of Western signage, and by fate, an identical Mitsubishi L300 passes ground zero as the roll flares out.

[ Published by Ohio State University's Journal of Short Film: click HERE to purchase! ]

An experimental tale distorting Bali's modern world into a historical account depicting the demise of its former cultural motto, "Rice is Life." Ten wordless vignettes, all in-camera edits, are strung together to compose a two-part mythological venture down the heavenly mountain toward the demonic sea, culminating at the site of the 2002 terrorist bombing.